For persons suffering from diabetes, more especially diabetes mellitus, it is of particular importance to always keep their blood glucose at a certain level. The prerequisite for this is knowledge of the blood glucose level, which is therefore measured with a blood glucose meter specially designed for this purpose.
If on the basis of measured values it is found that the blood glucose level has exceeded an intended range, medication has to be administered, for example by way of injections of insulin or orally taking metformin, which is an oral anti-diabetic drug. If the intended blood glucose level range is not reached, glucose must be administered by mouth, for example through food or a drink. If the intended blood glucose range is exceeded for a longer period there is a risk of serious health complications such as blindness, kidney damage, necrosis of the limbs or neuropathy. If the specified blood glucose level is exceed briefly but considerably, this can lead to nausea, dizziness, outbreaks of sweating, or even states of confusion. It is therefore very important that a diabetic is always aware of her blood glucose status and can, if necessary, take measures by herself to prevent blood glucose levels breaking out of the intended range.
A blood glucose meter with which the blood glucose level of a diabetic is measured is known, for example from document US 2007/0293790 A1, Diagnostic system for determining substance concentrations in liquid samples, assigned to Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.
It is known to take blood glucose measurements in accordance with a continuous measuring routine. Such measurements are known as Continuous Glucose Measurements (CGM). Over a consecutive period the blood glucose level is measured continuously so that, for example, the course of the blood glucose level is recorded over an entire day. Evaluation of the measured blood glucose level can involve taking the average of several daily courses. In this way it is possible to record blood glucose level fluctuations dependant on the time of day. A disadvantage of continuous blood glucose measurement is that on the one hand high costs are incurred and on the other hand it is inconvenient for the diabetic, particularly due to continuously having to wear a subcutaneous sensor. In a diabetic this can lead to infections at the injection point, intolerance to plasters or skin irritations, which prevent a diabetic from wearing it permanently or over longer periods, for example several months. Continuous measurement of the blood glucose level is described, for example, in the document by Gross et al., “Performance Evaluation of the MiniMed Continuous Glucose Monitoring System During Patient Home Use”, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 2 (2000)49.
Discontinuous blood glucose measurements are also known, which are also referred to as Self-Measurement of Blood Glucose (SMBG) measurements and are characterised in that the blood glucose level is recorded at intervals of time in the form of individual measurements and/or individual series of measurements. In this way, with the aid of such blood glucose measurements, which are also known as structured blood glucose measurements, it is possible to measure the blood glucose level in close time relationship in connection with certain events, for example in connection with meals. Disadvantages in connection with the structured blood glucose measurements can arise if events of relevance to the diabetic's blood glucose level occur between the measuring points so that they are not detectable. In document US 2009/0054753 A1, Variable sampling interval for blood analyte determination by Robinson et al., a method is described in which based on individual blood glucose measurements as part of discontinuous measurement, the time for a following further measurement is determined in dependence on parameters. The parameters take into account environmental and patient conditions.
Thus, there is a need for a method as well as a data processing device for the automatic generation of a user-specific measurement recording routine for discontinuous blood glucose measurement with a blood glucose measuring device, allowing improved individual blood glucose level monitoring for diabetics.